4121 E 18th St
Oakland, CA 94601

I am thankful for UPA because there are very good teachers, a nice principal, and an excellent parent coordinator, Glendy Cordero, at the school. There is a free salad bar for the students, four days a week thanks to Glendy, Ana, and the parents that help. I am also thankful for the program that teaches parents to learn about computers. Now, we can comunicate in e-mail with the school and see the grades of our children, etc.

My daughter graduated and my granddaughter now attends United for Success. Honestly, I think the school system in Oakland in general needs improvements. Every system needs constant revaluation to determine what works and what needs improvement, especially dealing with children. However, we cannot expect the school system to be effective without parental involvement. Parents need to be more involved with their children's education and social activities not just when there is a problem. Prevention involves parental involvement and intervention. Parents need to talk with their child and use words (not yelling) to communicate to get a better understanding of what is affecting their child. Parents stating, "I didn't know" is just not a good enough answer when discovering their child's involvement in certain activities.

The school has a lot of community input and the staff works very hard to fall into compliance with the policies and directions of the district, county, state, and nation. The school uses a dual immersion model for instruction where part of the day is in English and part of the day in Spanish. Some classes are fully bilingual, while others work with credentialed Spanish teachers and credentialed English teachers to deliver the curriculum to the students. Students still take state tests for the most part. With all of parties involved from the community, to the staff, to the district, all playing such an active role in the education of these students you have to wonder why they haven’t been successful in achieving higher test scores in spite of their efforts. Are there larger problems in the community or in the district or in the state or county that are preventing students from this school from having scores that correlate with successful outcomes as students pass developmental milestones.

Teachers are generally compassionate and demonstrate cultural sensitivity to the needs of all students. The linked learning program is moving in a positive direction and their tailored Newcomer program helps English language learners succeed. I'm encouraged to learn that their internship program has tripled over the last 3 years. There currently is a construction project on site, which includes a new 2 story building, updated on-site clinic and a new stadium/gym to replace their current 90yd football field. The project is expected to be complete by winter of 2020.